How to register for VAT with SARS in South Africa

If you would like any assistance with registering for VAT, please use the following link:

And now for the video script... :)

Over the past few years SARS has tightened up a lot on all VAT registrations owing to the amount of fraud committed involving false VAT claims. I have personally been called as an expert witness for the prosecution in a SARS VAT fraud case. In this video I am going to explain when you need to register for VAT and how we can help you.

Just to be clear, it is only compulsory to register for VAT once your turnover has breached R1m in any 12 month consecutive period. You can however also voluntarily register for VAT but only if you have sales of more than R50,000. For the voluntary VAT registration, a minimum of three invoices which total more than R50,000 are required and these amounts must be reflected in your business bank account.

SARS regularly changes the requirements for VAT registrations, for example they use to accept a contract as a proof of turnover for registration purposes, then they disallowed it for a while only to reintroduce it again recently. However SARS does not accept cashflow projections or quotes as proof of turnover.

Aside from the standard company information a VAT registration will need a letter of appointment signed by all the directors appointing one of the directors as the public officer of the company. The public officer is effectively the representative of the company as all actions carried out by the public officer are deemed to have been done by the company. Additionally, a letter of acceptance signed by the newly appointed Public officer is required as well as a standard FICA proof of address, such as a municipal account.

SARS will also require your company banking information in the form of an original confirmation letter from your bank and the latest original banking statements as well as proof of address for the company. If the company is a tenant a form CRA01 needs to be signed by the owner of the property and the property owner needs to provide of address.

If you live in the greater Cape Town area you will be required to attend an interview at the SARS head office in Cape Town. We will schedule the appointment and accompany you to the meeting. This is a further measure the SARS has recently instituted in their quest to stamp out fraud. However if you reside outside the greater Cape Town we required a Power of Attorney signed by you instructing our tax practitioner (the MST group) to represent you at SARS.

Please remember that all your other taxes such as company tax, PAYE and all the directors personal income tax must be up to date or SARS will not process the application.

So how do you apply for your VAT registration? Just log on to our site and request the one page application form which will automatically be emailed to you. Complete it, compile the supporting documents and return it to us. SARS insist that all supporting documents must be original so you will need to either courier them to us or drop them off at our office should you be in the area. If everything is in order and your other taxes are all up to date the entire process should take between 1-2 weeks.

It really is that simple so give it a try, but if you get stuck please call our friendly call centre as they will gladly assist you

I hope this has been helpful so as always remember, WE ARE HERE TO HELP

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[thandekilemanxeke]

I was looking for step by step of how to register as the title says

[teresabotha]

Hi, great video, always very informative. How much would a Vat. registration cost?

[jostermaswanganyi]

Thank you for this video. I have been searching for something like this for a while. I have a company and not registered for VAT. I intended on buying an equipment which is worth R750 000 including VAT. I have secured a job to supply services and the company will make a turnover of R48 600 per month excluding VAT. If I were to register for VAT the turnover would then be R48 600 *1.15 = R55 890. I also would like to claim the VAT on the Capital expenditure on the Equipment. Should I go ahead register for VAT based on this scenario? Thank you.

[thabodigital]

Thanks for informative video . I have a customer who insist that I must have vat 103 . And I have never made over R50K since my company registered. What must I do in this setuation ?

[MK_TheFoodie]

As a Forex trader i would fall under sole proprietor yes? What is the process to register my business with SARS?

[NaMahlangu]

Informative, can you make a video on filling in tender documents

[teetrackholdingsptyltd]

Hy, I have been watching all of your videos for a while, very informative. I have been looking for a video like this for weeks now. So what if a business is just registered, should they worry about getting a VAT No. Or wait till they reach the R50 000 mark? And quotes, are they legally allowed to put "excl VAT" even if they do have a VAT No. Or you they must have a VAT No. to do so? Thank you.

[shimmermanyuchi]

is it necessary to do a letter of appointment of Public Officer if there is only one director in the company?

[DonCarlosMovieClips]

Hi. I need some advice. I have a small PTY LTD business (Not Vat Registered). I receive payments through PayPal throughout the year and when it adds up it comes down to around R200 000 for the year.

PayPal usually only deduct their fees, but from the 1st of Jan 2024, they will start collecting Vat for the South African government.


Do I have to register for Vat if there’s a deduction for example of R6000 for each payment received.

Should I consider registering for Vat? Is there any way i can claim that money back or does it now belong to SARS.

What benefit will there be for me if I register for Vat?

My income will from 1st of Jan 2024 be much less due to the Vat Deductions.

Your feedback would be very much appreciated.

[AnnekeJonker-zrpd]

Good day, I do branding so I buy clothing as a reseller my clients cant buy direct I pay the VAT on it my clients want to claim but I cant include VAT since Im not registered. Im not at the 50k mark just jet. What do you suggest?

[mitchellthorne]

As a Customs Clearing Agent clients normally pay Customs Vat & duty and all other related charges to the Importing of consignment into my account which is greater than 50K Customs Vat or should Vat be 50k on my service fee?